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Fast Facts

With 8.2 million titles, ranking 32nd in the ARL Investment Index (2020 data), nearly 350 classes and presentations and over 7,000 reference interactions with students and faculty, Northwestern University Libraries is a bustling place, both on campus and virtually.

Services to students and faculty in the past academic year

  • 4,096,037 full text articles accessed
  • 1,055,702 web visits from around the world
  • 5,161 deliveries of materials to homes and offices
  • 6,588 book chapter and article requests fulfilled
  • 348 laptops and iPads circulated
  • 6,537 items lent to other libraries; 13,962 items borrowed from other libraries
  • 7,450 reference questions answered
  • 345 classes and presentations reaching 6,096   students

Total collections

  • 8,198,268 combined print and electronic volumes across all library locations, including Galter Health Sciences Library and Pritzker Legal Research Center.
  • 229,198 maps
  • 211,127 audio files
  • 103,377 print journals and 196,716 electronic journals
  • 91,334 films and videos
  • 36,989 linear feet of archives and manuscripts

Collections growth and preservation

  • 319,079 e-books added
  • 14,838 print books added
  • 43,608 films and videos added (includes streaming video titles)
  • 76% of acquisitions expenditures are for electronic materials
  • 697 conservation treatments

Buildings

  • 373,069 usable sq. feet of space in Evanston and 7,103 in Chicago
  • 21,978 usable sq. feet high-density shelving
  • 330 public computers
  • 8 staffed service points
  • 4 library buildings

Staff

  • 188 total staff at Northwestern University Libraries
  • 106 professional staff
  • 82 support staff
  • 120 student workers

Last review: June 2022